Combustion apparatus



0 c q a o o o 0 INVENTOR. JOHN W M/LLEE' ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 28, 1941 COMBUSTION APPARATUS John W. Miller and Vaughn H. Hill, Lansing, Mich., assignors to Motor Wheel Corporation, Lansing, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application October 14, 1939, Serial No. 299,471

2 Claims. 7 (Cl. 158-91) This invention relates to burners of the vaporizing pot type.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of means for improving the operation of such burners in their lower stages of operation without interfering with the desired and charthe atmosphereby reason of the construction of the supporting straps l2 and I3 previously menacteristic' high fire operation. This object is attained by providing the burner with bailie means of novel construction and arrangement within the burner. The baflle means comprises a plurality oi arcuate sections consttuting segments oi. a centrally apertured disk' arranged with alternate sections spaced vertically. By this means the lower part ofthe burner is separated from the upper part and is itself divided into a plurality of zones of varying size, with one of the smaller zones including the fuel inlet opening.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 Ba vertical sectional view of a space heater including a burner of the vaporizing pct radial extent of the sections.

type, the burner section being taken on substantially the line Il of Figure 2;

Figure 21s a horizontal section taken on substantially the line 2- -2 of Figure l and Figure 3 is a vertical section of the burner taken on substantially the line 33 of Figure 2.

The space heater shownin Figure 1 includes a cylindrical casing l0 closed at its upper ex-' tremity by a top wall I l and supported at its lower extremity by a pair of crossed supporting straps l2 and I3 which are formed at their opposite extremities to provide legs l4.

The upper portion of the casing in forms a combustion chamber l5 and the lower portion forms an air compartment l6 adapted to receive a burner l1. The present invention resides in the burner l1 and it will be described'in detail presently.

Access is had tothe combustion chamber l5 through a door It in the front thereof. The door l8 also serves to provide means for introducing a lighted taper into the apparatus, to initially ignite the oil. The products of combustion are withdrawn from the combustion chamber l5 through a flue outlet l9 having one end associated with the upper portion of the combustion chamber I 5 and its other end com- ,municating with a chimney 20. The flue 'outlet tioned.

The burner ll includes a bottom wall 22, a side wall 23, a top wall 24, an anti-explosion baiile 25, and bafiie means 26 disposed within the'burner. The top wall 24 is provided with a large central opening 241:. The side wall 23 of the burner I1 is .formed adjacent its upper extremity to provide a radially outwardly extending annular rib 28 and a radially inwardly extending annular rib 29 therebelow. The top wall is supported uponthe radially inwardly extending annular'rib 29.

The anti-explosion baffle 25 is positioned above and supported by the top wall 24.

The baiiie means 26 is made up of four arcuate sections A, B, C and D constituting segments of a centrally apertured disk. Adjacent ends of adjacent sections are joined to each other by vertical walls E of a radial width equal to the Air is admitted to the apparatus through primary air inlet openings 30 and secondary air inlet openings 3|. ings are formed in-the side wall 23 below the top wall and are arranged in vertically spaced horizontal rows, the openings in each row being spaced circumferentially. The. secondary airinlet openings are formed in the side wall 23 above the top wall 24 and below the anti-explosion baffie 25. They are located in the lower leg of the radially outwardly extending annular rib 28 whereby the air admitted therethrough is directed inwardly and upwardly. The anti-explosion baffle 25 and the secondary air inlet openings 3| are constructed and arranged with the axis of the openings intersecting the horizontal plane of the bailie whereby the air admitted through the secondary air inlet openings impinges against the baille.

All of the airlinlet openings 30 and 3| are in communication with the lower part of the casing forming the air compartment I6 and through It, in which the burner I1 is located, is open to it. with the atmosphere. Consequently, both the primary and secondary air is drawn into the apparatus by means ofv the draft communicated to the apparatus from the chimney.

Provision is made for-supplying oil to the burner in regulatable quantities from a source of supply not shown through a supply pipe 33 with which there is associated a conventional regulating valve 34. As shown, the bottom wall 22 of the burner is formed to provide a well or sump 35 into which the pipe 33.

The primary air inlet openoilflows from the supply To facilitate mounting the burner l'l within the casing III, the latter is provided with a radially inwardly extending annular shoulder 38 between the upper and lower portions of thecasing. The burner is mounted within the casing with the radially outwardly extending burner rib 28 engaging the radially inwardly extending casing rib 36, and is secured in that position by means of an adjustable screw element 31 threadedly mounted in the straps l2 and I3 and the free extremity of which engages the bottom oi. the burner. The straps l2 and I3 are secured to an inturned flange 38 at the lower extremity oi the casing ID by means of bolts 39.

As is clearly shown in the drawing, baiile means 26 in its entirety is located between the upper-.

most and lowermost primary air inlet openings 38. It is essential that it be arranged within the burner so that none of the horizontal sections A, B, C and D and none of the vertical walls E are positioned directly in front of an air inlet opening 30. Best results are obtained if one of the lower baiiie sections C or D is positioned over the fuel sump 35. Section C is here shown as so positioned.

The operation of the apparatus herein shown and described is as follows:

The valve 36 is opened and oil flows into the burner. The oil is ignited by inserting a match or lighted taper through the door it and dropping it onto the bottom of the burner, Initially,

and so long as oil is admitted to the burner in limited quantities only, combustion will occur in the lower part of the apparatus below baflie means 28. As the rate of flow of oil is increased the zone in which combustion is initiated irises within the apparatus until at the maximum flow of oil the lower limit of the zone of combustion will be localized adjacent the top of the burner in the region of the central opening in the top wall. The anti-explosion bame prevents the lower limit of the zone of combustion from rising above that point in a well known manner, thereby eliminating the possibility of explosions. As is well known, it is an inherent characteristic of the present apparatus that the lower limit of the zone of combustion may be localized at substantially any desired point between the bottom of the burner and the top of the burner by proper adjustment oi the regulating valve.

During the lower operating stages, when combustion is located in the lower part of the burner,

the baflle sections A, B, C and D prevent the formation of eddy currents to an extent sufflcient to avoid interference with the normal process of combustion at those stages of operation. In this connection, it should be mentioned that eddy currents are prevented from flowing circumferentially between the baflle sections by the vertical walls E. By reason of the staggered arrangement of the baiile sections, the entire lower part of the burner is broken up into a series of more or less separate but communicating compartments or zones, thus precluding the formation of eddy currents of any consequence. By locating one of the lower baffle sections over the fuel sump 35, the initial combustion is protected from the disturbing influence of eddy currents.

From the foregoing, it will-be apparent that the present invention provides an improved burner capable of stable, and therefore clean,

combustion throughout its entire lower range (lower oil flows) of operation. By providing a large central passageway from the lower to the upper part of the burner and arranging the bafiie means between the air apertures 30, the characteristic high fire operation of burners of this type is not adversely ailected.

' The scope of the invention is indicated in the appended claims.

1. In a burner of the vaporizing pot type including a bottom wall, a tubular side wall provlded with a plurality of vertically and circumrerentially spaced apart alrinlet apertures, and a fuel inlet opening formed in one of said walls adjacent the side of the burner and below said air inlet apertures, the improvement which comprises bafiie means disposed within the burner comprising a plurality of arcuate sections the axial projections of which constitute a centrally apertured annulus, alternate sections being located in vertically spaced horizontal planes with the adjacent ends thereof lying in a substantially common radial plane, and vertical walls of a radial width equal to the radial extent of said baflle sections connecting the adjacent ends of adjacent bame sections to each other.

2. A burner as defined in claim 1 wherein the bailie sections and vertical walls are located between the air inlet apertures whereby to avoid direct impingement of air thereagainst.

. JOHN W. MILLER. VAUGHN H. HILL. 

